Living and working in a big city like Ghent can overwhelm the senses. In Sint-Martens-Latem, artists looked for a more peaceful and silent landscape. Such an uncomplicated and authentic lifestyle attracted many artists wanting to oppose the ruling art of the bourgeoisie and the city’s industrial development. The setting around the river Leie proposed an inspiration to local artists from the last quarter of the 19th century. Around 1900, the Leie region started to attract a group of symbolist artists. They settled in Sint-Martens-Latem and would later be known as the First Latem Group. Painters like de Saedeleer and van de Woestyne, sculptor Minne and poet van de Woestijne found inner peace in Sint-Martens-Latem. A climate of spiritual and artistic depth was created in the village. Later, a Second Latem Group consisting of mostly impressionists changed their styles into very special expressionist ones around the time of the First World War. Returning home from the war, these impressionist painters (De Smet, Van den Berghe and Permeke) became the founders of Flemish expressionism.